It has taken me much time, money, and effort to reach this point. But I am happy to say that the full rebuild of the M97.1 Cayman S engine is complete. Cue the fireworks! After accumulating about 1500 “break-in miles”, I took the car to a HPDE event at Virginia International Raceway. I have experienced a few “niggles” but all in all the engine has performed very well from initial start through my recent track weekend. I am very pleased with the results. I probably will never totally let my guard down but I am convinced that I did a good job and the engine is not going to self-destruct because of some error I made. I thought I would post some conclusions about my effort.
For the previous article in this series see here. For the first article, see here.
Maybe the first and most obvious conclusion is that it took me a full year from the time I dropped the engine to the time that I put it back on track. There are various reasons for this. I am retired, which is either a blessing or a curse. I have the time. I don’t have a deadline. I chose to proceed at a pace that allowed me to fully consider each step of the process. This included a lot of “education” time, as this was my first effort with a Porsche engine. There were moderate delays waiting on the machine shop work to be done. There were moderate delays as I waited for parts. There were moderate delays for more pressing family issues. It all added up to a lengthy schedule. If I had to do it again, it would go much faster but be certain. If this is your first rebuild of a Porsche engine, you will need to allocate substantial time. It will not happen over a long weekend, with a case of beer and a few friends. As a matter of fact, a case of beer and few friends would be a very bad idea!
If this is your first Porsche rebuild, you need to thoroughly educate yourself. As I have stated before, I found the Jake Raby video series to be money well spent. Frankly, there is nothing on Youtube, Facebook, or the various forums that will get you through. Also indespensible are a (bootleg) PDF of the PIWIS “shop manual” and the Porsche PET document. You do not neccesarily need a diagnostic device, although if you have been following along, you will see that I really did need one during the break-in period.
You will need specialty tools. I haven’t really priced them out but by the time you purchase the piston pin/circlip insertion tool, the rear main seal installation tool, the cam timing tool kit, ring compressor, and the flywheel lock you will be in for some substantial money.
It will be expensive. Any way you cut it, to just get an ailing car back running, much less to do a comprehensive refresh like I did will not come cheap. I’m not going to quote exact numbers but commerical rebuilds seem to start at $20K these days and that does not include a lot of “while you are in there” parts. I posted my parts list in a previous article. You can enter the parts numbers listed on a dealer website like GetPorscheSilverSpringParts.com and get a list of costs. If you are starting out, I would encourage that you develop a speadsheet with your projected and actual costs. Slakker Racing Development lists machining and full rebuild costs on their website. A few key “while you are in there” parts that come to mind are the clutch, dual-mass flywheel, engine and transmission mounts, and water pump. I did much more, including all sensors and actuators, a new wiring harness, cylinder head refurb, transmission fluid flush, and center radiator kit. It adds up in a hurry.
So I guess the key question is: Is a DIY rebuild of a Porsche engine a good decision? There are of course many shades of grey to the answer to this question. If you have a broke car and are absolutely on a very tight budget, I would say no. Find a used short block and live to fight another day. There are cost cutting shortcuts but I am not about that so I won’t comment. On the flip side, if you have the time, the money, and the space, I found it to be a fascinating project. I learned so much about my engine and now find myself able to contribute knowledgably on forums when other folks have problems. There were times when I was a little bit terrified. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking “Did I really get the piston pin circlip on #6 fully seated in its groove?” I did a lot of intermediate testing that did help me avoid some pitfalls. As noted, in the end, the engine seems to be fine.
I plan to put a lot track and touring miles on this car. I am now confident that it will be a “happy camper” and not let me down. To a great extent I have a new engine and I have the knowledge to troubleshoot issues as they may arise. I would not hesitate to do this rebuild thing all over again. It was quite fascinating. BTW I am totally open to answering questions folks may have. Starting by sending me an email per the Contact link on the top of the webpage.
Best regards,
Harvey
New Hill Garage 
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